A meeting in our building
A text in Russian at level B1. The translation sits next to it for checking, not for support: at this level the text is read whole, and an unknown word is usually guessed from the sentence. On Monday there was a residents' meeting in our building. We discussed one problem: the old roof, which had leaked all…
Text
- В понедельник в нашем доме было собрание жильцов. Обсуждали одну проблему: старую крышу, которая текла всю зиму. Главный по дому предложил менять её целиком, но цена вышла высокой. Сосед с последнего этажа был против: он считал, что сначала надо починить лестницу. После долгого спора решили провести опрос среди всех квартир. В результате крышу поставили в план на следующий год, а лестницу починят уже в этом месяце.V ponedelnik v nashem dome bylo sobranie zhiltsov. Obsuzhdali odnu problemu: staruyu kryshu, kotoraya tekla vsyu zimu. Glavnyy po domu predlozhil menyat eyo tselikom, no tsena vyshla vysokoy. Sosed s poslednego etazha byl protiv: on schital, chto snachala nado pochinit lestnitsu. Posle dolgogo spora reshili provesti opros sredi vsekh kvartir. V rezultate kryshu postavili v plan na sleduyushchiy god, a lestnitsu pochinyat uzhe v etom mesyatse.On Monday there was a residents' meeting in our building. We discussed one problem: the old roof, which had leaked all winter. The building manager proposed replacing it entirely, but the price came out high. The neighbor from the top floor was against: he thought the staircase should be fixed first. After a long argument they decided to hold a survey among all the apartments. As a result the roof was put on the plan for next year, and the staircase will be fixed this very month.
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- What was discussed at the meeting?
- What did the building manager propose?
- Why was the neighbor against?
- What did they decide?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Russian?
B1. That means: everyday topics are behind you, you know about three thousand words, and an unknown word is more often guessed from the sentence than looked up.
How to read a text in an unfamiliar language usefully?
First all the way through without peeking at the translation — just to catch the familiar words. Then with the translation. Then all the way through again: the second pass brings noticeably more, and that feeling matters more than any rule.